Whoopee, I see the photos! Great modelling as well. It looks to me like your window blinds have a representation of a 'handle' on their lower edge - how did you do that? It's a great detail.
Now that you seem to have mastered the art of posting photos, is there a definitive 'how to' guide you'd like to share? I admit I've felt a little intimidated re: posting photos and I'd like get past that...
Geoff
Hi, Geoff-
It's the least I can do - yes I'll give it my best shot. My instructions are for a desktop computer, so you'll have to adapt them if you're using a handheld device. And if you're using a MacIntosh or any computer with a mouse that has just one button, you can "right click" by holding down the Control button on your keyboard at the same time you click with the mouse. All of these instructions are based on what I've learned from Bob, Max, Pete, and all the rest of the wonderful guys on this site who "held my hand" during my learning process. I don't know your level of internet experience, so I'm writing these instructions as though you're a beginner or just not knowledgeable about some of this business (like me.) Please forgive me if I go overboard a bit.
1. First, take a digital photo in your camera and then connect the camera to your computer via a cord or a card reader or something similar.
2. Now use your computer to download the photo you took from the camera and place it into a folder on your computer's desktop (new file or old - your choice) where you keep your on-line photo collection. Be sure to give the photo a label so you can find it later.
3. Now open a photo account with Google at their Google photos site: (
www.googlephotos.com)
4. The instructions there are pretty short and simple, but make sure you place your photos in an Album where you're holding all your Shared Photos file so they'll appear on the web when you post them later on. To Upload the photo into your file, go to the very top of the screen where you'll see the buttons Create and Upload. Click on Upload. A box will open up with a list of your files. Open the one that has your photos (mine is called Scans.) Click on the line showing the name of the photo you want.
5. Now click on Choose to select that photo. A small box will open up at the bottom left of your screen and you'll see the photo load in a few seconds. When done, it'll change so you can see two selections to choose from: Add to Album, and Shared Album. Click on Shared Album. If you don't specify Shared Album or Shared Photos, you'll have the same problem I was having. Place every photo you want to show on the RailWire site in that file. You'll eventually have a screen that shows rows of photos all across the screen.
6. Now use your mouse and drag the entire screen showing the Google Photos site off to the side a bit and open the RailWire website. Arrange both of them on your monitor so you can see most of each website at the same time. You'll be clicking and working on both at the same time for a few steps.
7. Go to this website (RailWire) and open a thread you're interested in where you want to place your photo. You can either start a New Topic or Reply to an older one.
8. Write your message in the RailWire message block. Wherever you want place your photo, use your mouse to position the little vertical blinking cursor line where the photo is to start.
9. Now go back to the Google Photos site and open your Albums file (if it isn't already open.) You'll find its button on the extreme upper left side of the screen.
10. Find the photo you want and then click (left click) on it with your mouse. When it comes up on your screen, click on it a second time and it'll show up very large on your screen.
11. Now "right click" on this image and a small dialog box shows up on the image. Click on "Copy Image Address" (slightly more than half way down) and then...
12. Go back to the message you're writing on the RailWire site. Click (left click) on the spot showing the blinking vertical line where you're about to place your photo and then "right click" there. A small dialog box will show up. Click on "Paste" which about halfway down.
13. A long computer code will appear on the screen where you want your photo to be. Go to the very end (make sure you've got it all) and then type in ?jpg right up against it with no spaces.
14. Next, use your mouse cursor and then highlight the entire code from end to end. When it's all highlighted (light blue in my case), look about one inch above the message block and all the way to the left. You'll see a Very Happy Smiley Face emoji at the bottom left of the rows of emojis. Directly above it is a tiny representation of a color portrait (under the bold B button). With the code still highlighted, click on that tiny color portrait.
15. This will add the following to your code: [img at the front and /img] at the end.
16. If you want to add another photo, move your blinking cursor line several spaces below the code and then repeat Steps 10 through 15. You can also type in extra text between the blocks of code if you want. Make sure you've actually left a little space between the code and the text on both tops and bottoms to keep things looking neat onscreen later. To make a space change, place your blinking cursor line at the very front (or very rear) of the code for the photo and then hit the Return key on your keyboard as needed.
17. At the bottom right of your screen (scroll if needed to find it), you'll see two light blue buttons: Post and Preview. Click on Preview.
18. After 15 to 30 seconds, your completed message with photos will start building on your screen. In a few more seconds, you should see it all. If everything is looking good, click Post and you're done.
Once your message with photo(s) is posted on the RailWire site, you can modify the text if necessary by clicking on the Modify button at the right side of the screen.
This is the system I'm using right now. It only took me a few hours of practice and now everything seems to happen quickly, automatically, and with no mental burnout. Of course I've yet to confirm that absolutely every member of this site is able to see the photos I've posted. No complaints have been reported as of this writing.
I hope I got all this right. If any of the more experienced gurus out there spot a mistake, let me know ASAP and I'll correct it at once.
